Cherokees were the first settlers in the Tennessee Valley of Alabama [names of delegates]

(Transcribed and unedited story from a WPA (Works Projects Administration) writer, William P. Burke

Towns and Native Americans of

Jackson County, Alabama

written by

William P. Burke

ca. 1938

Jackson County was created by an act of the legislature, December 13, 1819, and was named in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, who had led the army of volunteers against the hostile Creek Indians in the War of 1813-14, thereby rendering a service to the people of Alabama which called for an expression of gratitude. Gen. Jackson, who was later president of the United States, was visiting in Huntsville at the time the first state legislature was in session and was highly pleased at the compliment bestowed upon him. Its area is 1,136 square miles or 727,040 acres.

Tennessee River Valley

Nineteen different geological formations occur in the county, the formations or cosks (?) consisting of consolidated material deposited in the ancient seas that once existed here at different periods. There was considerable variations in its deposits, as is evidenced in the rocks, which range from the pure limestone of the valleys to the sandstone capping the mountains. Nineteen soil deposits, including rough stony land and meadow, are represented.

Jackson County, Alabama

Cherokees were the first settlers in the Tennessee Valley

Cherokee traditional history holds that their people were the first settlers in the Tennessee Valley with villages extending as far west as Big Bear Creek. Prior to 1650 they withdrew, for some reason, to the east of the Cumberland and Sand Mountains, using the Tennessee Valley as a hunting ground.

Tennessee Valley

The Shawnees took possession of this abandoned territory in 1660, an act which was resented by the Cherokees and in time brought on a war between the two, the Cherokees being aided by the Chickasaws. The allied tribes succeeded in expelling the Shawnees about 1721, driving them across the Ohio River, with the exception of some bands that found a home with the Creek Indians. About 1750 the Cherokees again began the formation of settlements in the Tennessee Valley.

Mounds in this county are located on the Tennessee River, near Bridgeport, and adjacent creeks. Cemetery and dwelling sites have been found near Galland’s Ferry in which have been located many burials.

Some Jackson County, Alabama towns (jacksoncountyeda.org)

The latter enclosed in stone slabs showing characteristics similar to the “stone graves” further north in the State of Tennessee. Towns and post offices in the county are:

SOURCES

Once Alabama was admitted as a state of the United States of America on December 4, 1819, a great wave of immigrants from other states and countries came by flat-boats, pack-horses, covered wagons and ships to become the first citizens of the state. ALABAMA FOOTPRINTS Statehoodpresents the times and conditions Alabama first citizens faced in lost & forgotten stories which include:

Who Controlled And Organized The New State of Alabama?

Tuscaloosa Had Three Other Names

Chandelier Falls & Capitol Burns

Alabama Throws Parties For General LaFayette

Francis Scott Key Was Sent to Alabama To Solve Problems

General Jackson’s Visit to Huntsville For A Horse Race Created Discord At Constitutional Convention

7 comments

The Cherokee were not the first Native Americans to dwell in the Tennesee Valley. Native Americans have been Alabama for many thousands of years and the first groups were primative Hunter and Gathers that were nothing like the Cherokee. Talk to an Anthropologist or Archaeologist for a better understanding of pre-history.

We are excited here at AP. Our latest volume in our popular Alabama Footprints series has been released.

The eighth edition, BANISHED, documents The Indian Removal Act called for the “voluntary or forcible removal of all Indians” residing in the eastern United States to the west of the Mississippi River. Between 1831 and 1837, approximately 46,000 Native Americans were forced to leave their homes in southeastern states. Available in paperback and ebook at this link

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